Tuesday, December 15, 2009

#7 Album of 2009: Merriweather Post Pavilion - Animal Collective

While this album inched out all its competition with an SCQ Rating of 91%, it was in September – nearly eight months after I first deemed it incredible – that Merriweather Post Pavilion fell from my #1 spot. It deserves the highest SCQ Rating, hell it deserves to be considered the best album of the year from every hipster website to major print publication. Washing the dishes that sunny autumn day, however, I realized it didn’t deserve to conquer SCQ. Yes, Merriweather Post Pavilion is the strongest, most impressionable album this year yet I can’t deny how many times I’ve skipped over listening to Animal Collective’s latest in favour of something else. Merriweather Post Pavilion isn’t perfect in my books but it’s terrifyingly close, and my enjoyment of it has been matched by its intimidating greatness. This Brooklyn ensemble remains the most ingenious musicians I’ve ever heard, and while their latest isn’t the be-all-end-all for me, it’s a requisite for any year-end list.